1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hair dye applicator, and more particularly, to such a device that includes a removable and refillable container for the dye that doubles as a handle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several dye applicators have been developed in the past. None of them, however, includes a removable dye container to provide a continuous supply of dye to a user's hair. The hair dye applicator includes a number of parallel teeth with internal longitudinal and transversal cavities to deliver the dye through several openings cooperative disposed in the opposite sides of the teeth.
Applicant believes that the closest reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,089 issued to Joseph T. Simon in Nov. 2, 1999 for a hair brush applicator. Simon's patented hairbrush applicator includes a hairbrush with a handle portion and a head portion. The handle portion has a chamber therein and the head portion has a plurality of narrow bristles and a plurality of wide bristles. Each of the wide bristles is tubular and has an open root coupled to the head portion and terminates at a closed tip. The hairbrush has a passage connecting the chamber adjacent the neck portion to the open roots of the wide bristles. Each of the wide bristles has a plurality of lateral apertures positioned between the root and tip of the wide bristle. The hairbrush has a rotatably mounted disk blocking the passage of the hairbrush. However, it differs from the present invention because the present invention includes a removable and replaceable dye container assembly preferably made out of moldable semi-rigid materials that doubles as a handle. The dye container assembly is deformable upon the applying of a force to squeeze out the dye and a one-way valve is used to permit the air to replace the dye that is released. The container maintains sufficient rigidity, even after being squeezed, to perform the handle functions. Also, the present invention includes a one-way valve that allows air to occupy the space liberated by the exiting dye.